The invention relates to an apparatus and a process for the horizontal production of a pressed coal cake for the purpose of coking the coal cake in the oven chamber of a coke oven, fixed pressing tools being used which operate horizontally and with a closely limited stroke.
Devices and processes for the tamping of coal cakes have been state of the art for a long time, for instance as described in DE 557 178 and DE 31 45 344. According to the state of the art, the tamped coal cakes are produced in a manner such that the cake grows in an upward direction up to its full height.
DE 198 07 484 describes a tamping process for this purpose. In this process, linear motors are used to lift the tamping rods which are then allowed to drop onto the bulk coal. A similar process is also described in DE 35 33 071 or DE 39 10 214. This means that the design of such a tamping device has to ensure that the tamping rods are suitable for tamping intensely and uniformly not only an extremely flat coal cake but also a completely filled pressing chamber versus an almost finished tamped cake.
In commercial-scale coking plants, the tamped cakes and, consequently, the pressing chambers in which they are produced, are usually 4 m to 7 m high, the disadvantage of this being that an appropriate additional space has to be provided for the tamping rods above the pressing chambers. Moreover, the charging facilities have to be located above these pressing chambers and the entire bulk coal quantity has to be conveyed to a point above the pressing chambers in order that it can be charged into the pressing chambers.
It is further known in the state of the art that the tamping rods and, in particular, the base of the tamping rods obstruct the charging of the bulk coal. To this end, it is proposed in DE 31 45 344 that the bases be foldable so that they thus constitute a lesser obstacle for the coal charging. The disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the mechanically highly stressed tamping rod bases have to provided with articulated elements which are more prone to failure than a rigid arrangement and that they have to be maintained. In the above-mentioned document, the height of the tamped cakes is quoted as being 4-6 m.
For the production of low, i.e. horizontal, tamped coal cakes, such as are commonly used in so-called non-recovery coke ovens, DE 198 03 455 suggests that the cake be tamped in the known vertical press mould and the press mould be constructed as part of a tipping device in order to allow the cake to be brought into the horizontal position after its production. Such a device is highly complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,091 describes a device in which a horizontal tamped cake is produced. To do so, the coal is levelled in the chamber during the charging operation vertically from above and simultaneously compacted in the chamber. The operation of the sophisticated conveying and compacting facilities in the hot oven chamber is technically highly complex, because costly water cooling is required for the conveyer. In particular, the vibration caused by the compactor should be regarded critically, as this can conceivably result in damage to the brickwork. A further disadvantage is the fact that the levelling devices have to be mobile so that they can be moved above the tamped cake.
DE 195 45 736 likewise describes the production of a horizontal pressed coal cake, the bulk coal being charged into a so-called coal moulding box outside the oven and then compacted. The dimensions of the finished coal cake are quoted in DE 195 45 736 as being preferably 0.6 m high, 3-5 m wide and 10-20 m long. A method of compacting this horizontal coal cake is not described in this document.
It is thus the objective of the invention to rectify the disadvantages of the present state of the art and to provide a coal pressing device and a process that is more economical by virtue of its more compact construction and yet has the same or better pressing characteristics than the known tamping device and process.